Hugo Award for Best Game or Interactive Work

Annual award for science fiction or fantasy

Hugo Award for Best Game or Interactive Work

Awarded for| The best science fiction or fantasy game or interactive work released in the prior calendar year
Presented by| World Science Fiction Society
First awarded| 2021
Most recent winner| Baldur's Gate 3 (Larian Studios)
Website| thehugoawards.org

The Hugo Award for Best Game or Interactive Work is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy works released in the previous calendar year. The game award is given out to video games, tabletop games, and other interactive works; non-interactive audiovisual works receive awards in the dramatic presentation category. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction", and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".[1][2]

The Hugo Award for Best Game or Interactive Work was started as an annual category by the World Science Fiction Society in 2024. Prior to then, when the category was first successfully proposed in 2021, an example one-off version of the category was awarded as Best Video Game, under rules which allow individual one-off categories to be awarded in any given year.[3] An earlier attempt at a one-off game category, entitled Best Interactive Video Game, had been made in 2006 but did not receive enough nominations to form a final ballot.[4][5]

Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, and the presentation evening constitutes its central event. The final selection process is defined in the World Science Fiction Society Constitution as instant-runoff voting with six nominees, except in the case of a tie. The works on the ballot are the six most-nominated by members that year.[6] Initial nominations are made by members from January through March, while voting on the ballot of six nominations is performed roughly from April through July, subject to change depending on when that year's Worldcon is held.[7] Worldcons are generally held in August or early September, and are held in a different city around the world each year.[8][9]

Under the Best Video Game title, six video games were nominated, all by different developers, with Hades by Supergiant Games winning. In its formal inaugural year, a further six video games by five additional studios were nominated, with Baldur's Gate 3 by Larian Studios winning.

## Winners and nominees

[edit]

In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the work was first published. Entries with a yellow background have won the award; those with a gray background are the nominees on the short-list.

* Winners and joint winners

Best Video Game Year  | Game  | Developer  | Publisher  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

2021  | Hades* | Supergiant Games | Supergiant Games  | [10]
Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Nintendo | Nintendo  | [10]
Blaseball | The Game Band | The Game Band | [10]
Final Fantasy VII Remake | Square Enix | Square Enix  | [10]
The Last of Us Part II | Naughty Dog | Sony Interactive Entertainment | [10]
Spiritfarer | Thunder Lotus Games | Thunder Lotus Games  | [10]
2024  | Baldur's Gate 3* | Larian Studios | Larian Studios  | [11]
Alan Wake 2 | Remedy Entertainment | Epic Games | [11]
Chants of Sennaar | Rundisc | Focus Entertainment | [11]
Dredge | Black Salt Games | Team17 | [11]
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | Nintendo | Nintendo  | [11]
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor | Respawn Entertainment | Electronic Arts | [11]

## See also

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* Nebula Award for Best Game Writing

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Jordison, Sam (2008-08-07). "An International Contest We Can Win". The Guardian. London, England. Archived from the original on 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
2. ^ Cleaver, Emily (2010-04-20). "Hugo Awards Announced". Litro Magazine. London, England: Ocean Media. Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
3. ^ "The Hugo Awards: Introduction". World Science Fiction Society. Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
4. ^ Maragos, Nich (2006-01-03). "Video Games Given Special Category in 2006 Hugos". Gamasutra. CMP Media. Archived from the original on 2006-02-05. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
5. ^ "2006 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2006-08-27. Archived from the original on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
6. ^ "The Hugo Awards: FAQ". World Science Fiction Society. 19 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
7. ^ "The Hugo Awards: Introduction". World Science Fiction Society. 18 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
8. ^ "The Locus index to SF Awards: About the Hugo Awards". Locus. Oakland, California: Locus. Archived from the original on 2010-01-03. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
9. ^ "World Science Fiction Society / Worldcon". World Science Fiction Society. Archived from the original on 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
10. ^ a b c d e f "2021 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2021-12-18. Archived from the original on 2022-01-03. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
11. ^ a b c d e f "2024 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 2024-03-29. Archived from the original on 2024-08-12. Retrieved 2024-03-29.

## External links

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* Hugo Award official site

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Hugo Awards

Written fiction|

* Novel
* Novella
* Novelette
* Short Story
* Series

Other works|

* Dramatic Presentation
* Related Work
* Graphic Story
* Game or Interactive Work
* Discontinued awards

Magazines/Periodicals|

* Professional Magazine
* Semiprozine
* Fanzine
* Fancast

People|

* Professional Editor
* Professional Artist
* Fan Artist
* Fan Writer

Other WSFS awards|

* Astounding Award for Best New Writer
* Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book

Related|

* Hugo Gernsback (namesake)

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